Adam Beane

WHEN MY SON LUKE WAS A KID, HE LOVED HIS ACTION HERO TOY FIGURES—X-MEN, WWF FIGURES, G.I. JOE’S, YOU NAME IT. In fact, tucked away in a back corner of our basement is a box, containing every toy figure he ever played with. One day, he discovered girls, or sports, or both—and that was it. I put them all in a box and took them away. He never gave it a second thought. One day, he’ll discover them, just as I left them. Old friends.

Most figures I bought for Luke were made of plastic or rubber, and when I think back about it, most all of them were well done. Realistic. Proportioned well. I never really gave much thought to who made the original—but maybe here’s an answer: Adam Beane.

Beane is an amazing sculptor who works with art directors of toy companies to create the original model from which mulitples are made for market. Beane uses a material that he calls CX5, a tremendously versatile material which molds like clay when warm but dries hard as plastic when cooled. I am impressed with his realism, attention to detail and the subtle nuances he is able to pull from the material.